Policy Fellow and Israel/Palestine Project Coordinator

Hugh is Policy Fellow and Israel/Palestine Project Coordinator for ECFR's Middle East and North Africa Programme, where he joined in August 2012. Prior to this, he worked as a researcher for International Crisis Group and as a Schuman Fellow in the European Parliament focussing on Middle-East policy. He also worked for the Aga Khan University’s Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations as an Arabic translator, specialising in Muslim cultures and Islamic law.

Hugh studied Arabic at the Institute for Arab and Islamic Studies at Exeter University as well as at the Institut français du Proche-Orient in Damascus. He then went on to earn an MA in Near and Middle Eastern Studies at the London School of Oriental and African Studies, where he majored in Anthropology.

In working to rein in manifestations of incitement to violence, Europe must not lose sight of the factors that, while never justifying violence, create conditions that are particularly conducive to radicalisation

In working to rein in manifestations of incitement to violence, Europe must not lose sight of the factors that, while never justifying violence, create conditions that are particularly conducive to radicalisation

ECFR's Hugh Lovatt and Mattia Toaldo speak to independent journalist and editor Noam Sheizaf, who has previously worked for a number of Israeli news outlets including Ynet.co.il and Maariv, and now writes regularly for +972 Magazine.

ECFR policy fellows Mattia Toaldo and Hugh Lovatt, authors of the policy brief "EU differentiation and Israeli settlements", believe that the EU needs to act faster and further in ensuring that Israeli settlements in no way benefit from EU-Israel bilateral relations. In the interview they explain the benefits of a differentiation policy.